ORIGINAL STONEY POINTERS COULD GET ONLY $15,000 FROM PROPOSED DEAL

COMPENSATION NOT ENOUGH FOR UPROOTED FAMILIES, ACTIVIST
SAYS

[S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may
contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent
facts and/or context. It is provided for reference only.]

Natives still alive who were forced by Ottawa off their Stoney
Point reserve near Sarnia in 1942 would see only a fraction of a
$26-million proposal to hand it back, a confidential document
suggests. The London Free Press this week revealed details of a
proposed deal in the offing for Ottawa to return the land it took to
set up a wartime army training camp along Lake Huron's south shore.
Under the proposal, not yet fully nailed down by negotiators, Ottawa
would return Camp Ipperwash lands, rebuild a native community there
and flow millions of dollars in group benefits to the The Kettle and
Stony Point band. The proposal was detailed in a confidential legal
summary, obtained by The Free Press and prepared for one group of the
natives. The estimated 22 survivors actually displaced from the
Ipperwash-area land -- which was to be returned after the Second
World War -- would share in $2.3 million in total individual
compensation.

But since that total would be divided several ways, including to
members of a wider band, the payout to original Stoney Pointers could
be as little as $15,000 each, the summary document suggests. The memo
outlines four types of compensation, including a total of $330,000
for the still-living original residents and $506,000 to be divided
among holders of 1942 "location tickets" at Stoney Point -- who held
rights to possession -- or heirs and beneficiaries. The rest would go
to senior members of the wider band.

'MILLION-DOLLAR RIDDLE'

One Stoney Point man, who led some natives
back onto the base land in 1993, saying they were tired of waiting
for its return, said Thursday it's unclear how many original
residents would also stand to get location-ticket money in the
reported proposal. "That's the million-dollar riddle," Maynard T.
George said. George said even if the original residents access the
extra money, it's not nearly enough compensation for families
uprooted in 1942. "That's why I have to reject it." Kettle Point and
Stoney Point, at opposite ends of the Ipperwash area where a native
protester was gunned down by the OPP in 1995, were separate reserves
until 1942. Today only one band, the Kettle and Stony Point band, is
recognized by the federal government. The Stoney Pointers, who occupy
the former Camp Ipperwash, contend they are a separate group.

The proposed settlement was set out in detail in the confidential
memo obtained by The Free Press, although both sides insist there's
nothing in writing to approve yet. Federal and native negotiators
have spent nearly two years trying to forge an agreement to return
the former base land, subject to approval by the band and Ottawa. One
of the most contentious parts of the proposed settlement in the memo
calls for Ottawa to try to get Ontario to turn over Ipperwash
Provincial Park for a transfer to native reserve status.

EXPLANATION DEMANDED

The park twist -- previously unknown to the
Ontario government -- also prompted Ontario deputy Natural Resources
minister Ron Vrancart to write a federal counterpart this week,
demanding a "full explanation" of the proposal. In his letter, a
"dismayed" Vrancart blamed federal "inaction" to return the military
base for a 1995 native occupation of the park. It has remained closed
since. Dudley George, a native protester, was shot dead outside the
park in a clash with a heavily armed OPP force after the occupation
at the end of the 1995 season. Negotiations to resolve the Camp
Ipperwash dispute are expected to resume soon, Michael Coyle, a
mediator chairing the talks, said from Ottawa. "The negotiators would
like to get together again as soon as possible but they don't have a
confirmed date yet."